SEARCY - After losing 10 of their last 11 games, the Arkansas Tech Golden Suns found Harding University to be a very and somewhat healing spoonful of sugar.

Tech overcame an early frigid shooting beginning, missing a dozen of its first 13 tries before warming up to run away with a 61-40 Gulf South Conference win Thursday night at Rhodes Fieldhouse.

The win gave the Suns (7-13, 2-5 Gulf South) their 16th consecutive win over the Lady Bisons (9-10, 2-5 Gulf South) and extended their all-time series lead to an incredible 36-1.

But more importantly, the win pulled the Suns up one notch in the West Division standings as the first round of league play nears an end. Tech moved into a tie for seventh place along with Harding, and depending upon the outcome of Christian Brothers' game with UAM, could be as high as sixth place with a CBU loss.

After having no one to score in double figures over the last couple of games, the Suns had two players to reach that column against Harding. Sarah Hart led the way with a game-high 16 points, while Ginger Murphy tossed in another 12.

This one couldn't have started any colder for the Suns. They misfired on a dozen of their first 13 tries, getting that initial bucket some 4:01 into the game on a baseline jumper by Murphy. From there, the Suns got only two more buckets during the next nine minutes and trailed 13-10 before settling into the game's first offensive thrust.

Over the final 5:44, the Suns hit 5 of 7, zipping into a 24-19 advantage on the strength of a 7-0 run - starting with Robin Chastain's layup off a right lane roll at 2:13 and ending with Murphy's bank from the right side at 1:12.

The Suns ended those first 20 minutes hitting 33 percent (9-of-27) and held a 24-21 advantage.

But Tech didn't cool off during the break, coming right out and nailing three in a row and eight of their first 14 and crashing into a commanding 44-28 lead. It was all Suns after that as they held the Lady Bisons to their lowest scoring performance of the season in the 21-point blow out.

Tech finished hitting 40 percent from the field, using a 48 percent second half effort. It was the best shooting night for the Suns since a 53 percent winning performance over Christian Brothers back on Jan. 13.

The Suns also held a 41-35 edge on the boards, with Katie McCormick, Hallie Morris and Hart each pulling down seven.

Tech will continue Gulf South Conference play at 6 p.m. Saturday night by meeting Delta State at Tucker Coliseum.